One thing I never, ever, ever take for granted is how much each of Beth’s Seeing Eye dogs has meant to Beth and to us. I still remember the days when Beth struggled to hone her cane skills—it was a real struggle for both of us. I constantly worried, she didn’t get around as independently […]

Whitney and I took a commuter train to Deerfield, Illinois Thursday to talk with third graders at Wilmot Elementary about what it’s like to be blind and get around with a Seeing Eye dog. I started by explaining the three rules Wilmot students should keep in mind if they happen to see a guide dog […]

Four weeks ago today I was eating cheese and petting goats on a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon in central Illinois. I’ve written here before about Marcel’s Culinary Experience, the culinary retail store and cooking school my childhood friend Jill Foucré opened in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The success of Marcel’s inspired her to open Marché, an […]

What fun it was to be interviewed in front of an audience by my friend and fellow memoir-writer Regan Burke last Friday. Here’s an account of the evening from her, well, point of view. Last Friday night Beth and I participated in an event called “Body Language—Reading and Discussions about Writing the Body.” The event […]

Greetings from Milwaukee, where Beth, Whitney, and I have just boarded Amtrak’s Hiawatha, which will begin rolling toward Chicago any minute now. We had a good visit with our son Gus at his group home in Wisconsin in a town called Watertown. The home is operated by Bethesda Lutheran Services, and it houses eight  people, […]